BY OFFICIAL pronouncements, the energy crisis in our country remains real and serious.
Government estimates that we might have some 8,000 to 10,000-megawatt power shortage by 2019.
More than a decade ago, this was the same estimate that the government wanted to solve.
With the same estimate being projected today, it looks like the government has not done anything substantive to reverse the trend despite its positive outlook and bold projections.
For the government to be able to pursue the track of massive infrastructure construction and global competitiveness for its industries, it must secure its adequate energy supply. But the questions that now concern both planners and consumers are, what sources, what energy mix, how cheap and how clean?
Although there is now a growing awareness of renewable energy, our country remains largely dependent on very dirty, destructive and expensive traditional energy sources – fossil fuels, of which coal is its biggest source.
Coal deposit is still the biggest energy resource in our country with the largest deposit available locally in Semirara Island, province of Antique. The country’s largest coal producer is Semirara Mining Corporation, which contributes about 92 percent of the local coal production. Coal mines are also located in Cebu, Zamboanga Sibugay, Albay, Surigao and Negros provinces.
Experts say that coal is burned to produce steam and convert to electricity. It contains high heat content at economical costs. But the environmental problems its usage poses are heavy.
Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn, so sophisticated air pollution control devices are necessary. Burning coal releases pollutants that contribute to acid rain and more carbon dioxide than any of the other fossil fuels. Strip mining for coal devastates an area and often results in serious erosion.
Even when attempts are made to reclaim the land with grading, the return of topsoil, and replanting, the ecosystem never fully recover its biological diversity.
Dr. Romy Quijano, a toxicologist, and pharmacologist, said that burning coal releases into the atmosphere more than 20 toxic and heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead. He added that the low concentration of lead can increase neurological disease, especially in young children.
After heavily criticized as environment-unfriendly worldwide, nuclear power in Southeast Asia had overtaken coal in the 70s as an alternative energy source and proliferated in the early 1980s.
Experts cite many advantages to nuclear power. It does not cause air pollution or release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It causes minimal water pollution.
Other experts stressed that the big problem that nuclear power brings is a high risk of radiation in cases of disasters.
Yet, despite the countless disasters and environmental destructions caused by these sources have caused on humanity in different places and time, power brokers and experts still insist on using these destructive energy sources.
The past two administrations have mulled of reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, despite the disastrous nuclear fall out in Fukushima, Japan. But most lawmakers and the people refused to budge in. Pushing this type of energy will only aggravate our crisis, and cause us endless nightmares.
The only way for our country to be stronger in energy is to harness the almost unlimited power of renewable energy sources to complement our existing ones, and over time, reduced the coal and nuclear options.
These are solar power, wind power, hydroelectric, geothermal energy, and biomass energy sources.
Renewable energy sources can produce varied types of energy, electricity, heat and transportation fuel. Nuclear power produces only electric power.
Latest practices have already pointed out the cost-competitiveness of renewable energy compared to fossil fuels and will become even less expensive overtime when already used on a small scale, roof-top based but wider in scale.
I back environmentalists fighting for the use of renewable energy sources since they could be available for an infinite length of time as the supply is continually replenished, and the cost is affordable.
Mindanao energy source is 51 percent supplied by hydroelectric power from Lake Lanao.
The supply of hydro energy, however, drops during summer months when there are less rain and less water in the dams. This is the reason why other renewable energy sources are being tapped to augment the shortages of hydropower supply.
Mindanao projected shortage is estimated to be around 300 megawatts by 2020. The Visayas is reportedly facing a shortage of 500 megawatts for the same period.
These state of our energy demand more supply which can only be provided by our vast untapped renewable energy sources.
Department of Energy pointed that by 2030, more than half (6,767 MW) of the renewable energy sources in the country would come from hydropower. The contributions of other renewable energy sources by that time would be as follows: geothermal (3,097 MW), biomass (257.2 MW), wind (548 MW), ocean (120 MW), and solar (35 MW).
DOE added that biomass, solar and wind will be among the major sources of energy for the next decade, accounting for more than a third of the country's total energy demand.
Demand for solar and wind energy sources is foreseen to grow with the implementation of the program to invigorate the market for solar water heaters and locally fabricated solar dryers and wind pumps.
On the other hand, biomass resources will continue to dominate the total non-power demand for renewable energy.
Biomass will still be the most important fuel for rural households particularly in their cooking and agriculture activities such as crop drying.
Solar and wind, on the other hand, shall be utilized for lighting, water pumping and operation of small appliances.